Lin Xuan walked along the forest path, his black hair catching the sunlight, and his white-haired attendant, Yue, gliding beside him like a fragile moonbeam of anxiety.
The forest soon opened to a small village. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys. Children laughed, dogs barked, and merchants shouted over the clatter of carts.
He stepped into the village square, and immediately, people froze. Not in fear. Not in awe. Just… instinctive, mortal hesitation.
A young man dropped his basket of vegetables. "Wh-who are you?" he stammered, eyes widening at his presence.
He tilted his head, looking at him with what mortals might call intensity.
"I am Lin Xuan," Lin Xuan said, casually brushing invisible dust from his sleeve. "You may stare. It's fine. I am used to it."
The man jaw dropped. A woman nearby fainted dramatically. A child tripped over his own feet.
Yue groaned beside him. "Master! Please! You're scaring them already! Stop being perfect! Just… act human!"
He looked down at the child. "Hmm. Human emotions… curiosity. Fear. Surprise. Not bad."
The child whimpered and ran to hide behind his mother.
"Good," he murmured. "Step one, observe. Step two, blend in. Step three, feel human life."
A merchant, clearly shaken, pointed at Lin Xuan. "You… you're the new… village guardian?"
He blinked. "Guardian? No. I'm… visiting. Learning. Trying out life of a mortal."
The villagers looked at one another. Nodded. Whispered. Mostly confused.
Yue tugged at his sleeve. "Master… you look like a god! They don't understand your words. You have to… lower your aura. Pretend to be… mortal."
Lin Xuan sighed. A deep, dramatic sigh that carried the weight of eternity and accidentally sent the village well flying into the next field.
"Oops," he muttered.
Yue groaned so hard, he thought her head might spin. "MASTER!"
"Ah," Lin Xuan said thoughtfully. "Maybe humans are harder to deal with than I imagined."
A young girl peeked from behind a wooden cart, eyes wide and sparkling. "Are… are you a god?" she asked timidly.
Lin Xuan stared at her. "I was an Immortal God," he said. "Now… I'm… practicing being mortal."
The girl tilted her head. "Practicing mortal…? Are you pretending to be mortal?"
Lin Xuan considered this carefully. "Yes. Exactly that. Very observant."
She giggled, clearly unafraid. For the first time in his lifetime, He felt… a flicker of something. Curiosity. Amusement. Something.
Yue whispered, "Master… maybe humans aren't completely useless after all…"
Lin Xuan smiled faintly. "Finally. Step one of boredom therapy: interaction with mortals. So far… not unpleasant."
Determined to blend in, Lin Xuan decided to try a small, simple human task, helping a merchant carry a basket of apples.
The basket was… surprisingly light. Or at least, it should have been.
Lin Xuan lifted it effortlessly with one hand. The basket's bottom broke instantly, sending apples flying in all directions.
"MASTER!" Yue screamed, crimson eyes practically spinning in disbelief. "You're destroying everything!"
The villagers scattered, screams echoing through the square. A dog barked furiously, while a child cried and hid under a cart.
Lin Xuan scratched his head. "Hmm. Maybe I need more practice."
"Practice?" Yue groaned. "MASTER! That was apples! Not continents!"
Ignoring her, Lin Xuan carefully collected the apples using one hand. Then, just to be considerate, He used a single finger to rearrange all the fallen baskets and crates back in perfect order. The villagers stared, completely frozen in awe.
"Very… very mortal of you," one man muttered, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.
Lin Xuan nodded approvingly. "Yes. Very mundane."
Next, Lin Xuan wandered toward the village fountain, watching the villagers go about their mundane lives. Children splashed water. A young woman drew water while humming. Elderly men debated loudly over absolutely nothing.
Yue whispered, "Master… try not to stand out. Please."
Lin Xuan leaned against the fountain, casually tossing a pebble. The pebble disintegrated midair from his residual power, missing the water entirely. Yue winced.
"I… feel something," Lin Xuan murmured. "Not strong, not overwhelming… but it's something. Interest? Curiosity? Possibly amusement?"
"Or terror," Yue muttered.
A farmer approached me cautiously. "You… you're new here, right? Will you… Help us? Maybe train our militia… or guard the village?"
Lin Xuan considered it for a moment. Guard the village? Protect mortals? Use my godly power to… babysit humans?
"Hmm," Lin Xuan said. "Possibly. But first… I want to feel… mortal life."
The farmer blinked. "M-mortal life?"
"Yes," Lin Xuan replied, faintly smiling. "I'm practicing being mortal. Experiencing life…"
Yue pinched the bridge of her nose. "Master… do you realize how impossible that is? You're a god!"
Lin Xuan shrugged. "That's why it's a challenge."
The villagers exchanged uneasy glances. Some whispered about him being a wandering sage. Others suspected witchcraft. A few ran away entirely.
Lin Xuan smiled inwardly. Perfect. Just the kind of chaos that makes human life interesting… for him, at least.
As Lin Xuan walked past the fountain, a small girl tugged at his sleeve. "Sir… can you show me a trick?"
Lin Xuan looked down at her. For the first time in centuries, He felt… a small twinge of amusement.
"Light," Lin Xuan said, holding out a finger. A faint golden light appeared, swirling gently in a tiny orb.
Her eyes widened. "Wow! How did you do that?"
Lin Xuan smiled faintly. Amusement. Curiosity. Interest. Possibly the first real emotion he felt in… eternity.
Yue sighed, exasperated. "Master… are you enjoying yourself?!"
"Maybe," Lin Xuan said casually, pocketing the orb. "But remember… I'm still practicing mortal life. This is… training."
And with that, Lin Xuan walked deeper into the village, leaving a trail of minor chaos, astonished villagers, and flickers of human emotion behind him.
Finally, perhaps, boredom and immortality might meet somewhere in the middle, though he suspected it would take a while.